Adults must provide teenagers with guidance in social skills if they are to make a harmonious adjustment to social life. The mother and daughter in this film have far to go.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Crawley Films, Ltd.
Sponsor: N/A
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Social guidance; Gender roles; Psychology

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Kashmir Page - - December 18, 2011
Subject: Advice for Marian
Hey girlfriend, may I make a suggestion? The two girls you were talking to at the table seemed much nicer than that other snooty group of kids. Why not go to the movies with them instead of worrying about that stupid party. I hear "Jailhouse Rock" is playing, and lets face it, Elvis is way hotter on sceen than those two boys are in person. Why, the really popular boy leaned right over you to put money in the jukebox. Even though he said "excuse me," that was still incredibly rude! And his comments about the song you played were even more so! Invite the same set of girls to the party your dad talked your mom into letting you have. Invite Susie too if you like; she might decide she feels more comfortable with your group of friends. You might even consider asking Peter. Sure, he's a bit of a loner and likes to read technical magazines, but there's good money in that, and he just might help Al Gore invent the internet! At any rate, there's more to that school--and to life--than what "they" happen to be doing. So after you've gotten your cry out, dry your eyes, hold up your chin, and go live your life! You're every bit as good as they are!

Reviewer: donwert - - April 17, 2010
Subject: Conformity Is Good!
An odd little film about how destructive cliques can be for high school students. What's odd is that the producers take the position that kids who aren't part of the "in" crowd have only themselves or their parents to blame. Implicit is the idea that cliques, which are, by definition, exclusionary, are OK. They may be inevitable, but it apparently never dawned on the writers to suggest that there may be something wrong with the self-important little
jerks who "run" the school's social life. Or that
an intense yearning to be accepted by them to the point of depression is the real problem.
In that sense, this film is a perfect product of the '50s, where conformity was prized above all else. Fit in, go along, don't be conspicuous, be popular. All the other kids are! Yes, indeed, all those teens are being groomed for their future lives as members of "The Lonely Crowd".

Reviewer: autoguy - - May 20, 2006
Subject: Guidance!
Listen to the adults kids, and they will guide you! Take Rod. His family has lots of money. That being most important, he is, of course, the most socially acceptable. OMG, it's Ben. He's low class. Obviously not acceptable. No prestige or big dough there. Suzy is our next example. Emotional beatings will keep her in line. Uh-oh, look out, it's the voluntary isolate, Peter! No silly cliches for him. He buys the technical magazine, along with "Guns and Ammo"! Then Marion too, my, so many. She could help Peter clean his guns if she wasn't so shy. The nonsense commences. The big bash? Who goes? Why Ben? He lives in a SLUMMY part of town! *gasp* Will Marion get invited? Where the hell are we going with all this foolishness? Ah, there we go. Marion seems to be a real nice gal, but now we see her mother is a rotten old bag! Look, here comes dad, the spineless yellow belly! STFU dad, says bag. Lets take the next turn at dysfunction junction. Lilly livered dad calmly tries to take a stand. Rotten bag pours it, wild exadderations, guilt trips, pity bags. Go bag, GO! Dad will suck for it all, he always does, right? Hey! Mom cracks and spills her guts! Too late mom, the kids are already a mess and the whole town hates your guts. Yes folks, poor Marion has the worst parents in town, and now she must pay for that because they dress their kids funny. What about all those other kids? Does Peter come to school heavily armed and mop up? Does slum-boy Ben become the local crack dealer? Does silver-spoon Rod become president, and attack other countries for his greedy friends? We never find out, darn!

Reviewer: ERD - - April 11, 2006
Subject: Good, but somewhat contrived.
Marion's father seemed to catch the problem, and I think he will help not only his daughter, Marion, but his wife as well. I think it is important for parents to teacher their children to take pride in themselves and not be intimidated by snobs or superficial people. This film is a bit too contrived. Good over all production quality.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - June 8, 2005
Subject: "A Bunch of teenagers with their record players? They'll want something to eat!"
Marion is a high school student who has a few friends, but is desperate to get into the upper tier clique of students.. you know, the ones we hated at school because they were too popular? (I'm the geek with the glasses buying the Radio and Television magazine, ha ha that's me to a T), one of the girls in the clique just happened to be a friend that she had in junior high school but soon drifted apart. She is having a party, and in a chance meeting (Marion chooses the wrong music at the malt shop! Horrors!) she sort of half invotes Marion to it, but says she'll phone her. During the dinner with her parents as she waits for the phone call, she and her parents have this AMAZING conversation about the possibility of Marion actually having a party at her house, but Mom's against it! All those teenagers are just so rich! The place is too small! They'll want something to eat! etc etc. Soon Dad is figuring out that Mom's behavior is getting to Marion, and is really quite the amazing scene. Anyways, will Marion get the phone call? I won't spoil that for you, but mind you, it IS a Crawley production.. A neat little film filled with surprises, (starting at the beginning.. Check out that theme music during the credits!), this film is reccomended!

Reviewer: trafalgar - - March 24, 2004
Subject: Surprisingly good
Wow, I was really surprised by this engrossing little drama. It's well-written, well-directed, and well-acted (especially by the lead actress in the part of Marian). This is a painfully sensitive look at the difficulties of teenage social interaction, aimed at making parents understand what their kids are going through. Those little slights and rejections may seem insignificant to adults, the film states, but to teenagers they symbolize greater things, and can leave lasting emotional scars. The film-makers actually manage to develop some real, sympathetic characters in the short duration of this film, and avoid the cliches and dogma usual to the genre. And I respectfully disagree with part of Ken Smith's review below: one boy is shown who specifically chooses to remain outside the social group, and he is said to be perfectly happy that way (although he is given the stereotypical glasses and serious expression).
All in all, an excellent film that is still relevant today.

Shotlist

Correlation between social acceptability and successful adjustment and happiness of average adolescent. Emphasises responsibility of adults to provide adolescents with guidance in social skills. Mother's insecutiry and unfaborable attitude influences daughter's actions.

Ken Smith sez: This is one of the most heart-wrenching educational films ever made. Cute, perky "Marion" wants desperately to be part of the gang, but Fate, her parents, and her callous friends all combine to make her efforts ultimately futile. "All of us want to get along with other people," the narrator explains. "Lack of social acceptance can leave emotional scars." This film teaches us that only geeks and maladjusted normal people shun social acceptance -- and those that do soon live to regret it. The ultimate depressing Crawley film.


SOCIAL INTERACTION SKILLS POOR MOTHER & DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP SHYNESS ADOLESCENTS EMOTIONS ACCEPTANCE SOCIAL BEHAVIOR TEENAGERS INSECURITY OSTRACISM PEER GROUPS FAMILIES HOME LIFE PSYCHOLOGY
Danger Lurks Safety
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